Backpacking Claire

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Tuesday, 26 June 2012

I am doing this post because when I arrived in Sydney with
hardly any money I was relatively clueless as to, what to do, were to go and
how to do the basics; this list could have been really helpful, as a general
guide to all you need to know as a backpacker arriving in Sydney.

Saturday, 16 June 2012

10. China Town: Spend a day in China Town eating some great
food – then head to nearby Paddy’s Market for some shopping.

9. Pub crawl The Rocks: The oldest part of Sydney, it looks
almost European and has some great Irish bars; spend a day crawling the bars
with spectacular views of the Harbour Bridge and Opera House.

8. Kings Cross: This is definitely the most controversial of
The Eastern Suburbs- see Sydney’s red light district full of colourful
characters. This is the best place for night life; it’s full of cheap and
cheerful bars – Empire is great.

7. Take A cruise: Sydney’s harbour is incredible and the
best way to experience it is with a Harbour Cruise, alternatively one on a
Saturday night can also be great for fireworks.

6. Manly: not as famous as Bondi but just as beautiful; located
on the north shore and most easily accessible by ferry – this is a much quieter
beach and great for surfing and swimming.

5. Darling Harbour: A major tourist destination – you can
watch street performers, visit The Aquarium Or just relax and sit by the
harbour.

4. The Botanical Gardens: I have whiled away many afternoons
in these beautiful gardens; it is easy to forget that you are in a cosmopolitan
city. Feed the cockatoos see the bats and just chill out.

3. The Sydney Opera House: there is no doubt that The Opera
House is iconic and an absolute must see. For the best view head down to
McMahons Point on the north shore, take a bus from North Sydney. It is a bit
out of the way but you will get the best photos.

2. The Bondi To Coogee Walk: Start at the famous Bondi
Beach, and walk along the coast line all the way to Coogee. The scenery on this
walk is spectacular and a great way to see the Australian coastline.

1. Take a day trip to The Blue Mountains: This beautiful
national park gives you a taste of true Australian scenery, the highlight is
The Three Sisters or The Jenolan Caves. All of this is just 2 hours outside of
Sydney CBD.

This is my list of the top things to do in Sydney, please let me know yours?

Friday, 25 May 2012

This Weeks #FriFototheme is
Waterfalls – I have seen some truly spectacular waterfalls in New Zealand,
Australia and Asia and this is my pick of the best.

These two photos are from Luang Prabang in Laos – These are by far the most beautiful waterfalls that I have seen – the turquoise colour – they start with the big fall and then some smaller trailing cascades.

These two photos are from
the amazing falls in The Blue Mountains National Park in NSW Australia. These
are my fave there are so many waterfalls here from small streams to huge waterfalls.

Hukka Falls New Zealand this
is a very different kind of waterfall – not a steep drop but super-fast and
super powerful.

#FriFoto is open to all. To
see more photos from everyone else, follow #FriFoto on Twitter.

Tuesday, 22 May 2012

Hostelbookers has been running a meme amongst the travel
blogger community for a little while where you enter your 7 super shots! It is
encouraging Travellers to share their favourite pics in seven separate categories.
As a new blogger I haven’t been nominated perse – however Adventurous Kate did
say she nominates anyone who wants to participate; and I am taking her up on
her offer:

So here it is my Super 7 shots:

A Photo that takes my breath away:

The Sunset on the riverbank in Luang Prabang – Laos; Laos
has some of the most spectacular Scenery that I have ever seen, however this picture
of the Sunset outside of my hostel takes my breath away it just sums up the
beauty of the country.

A Photo That Makes Me Laugh Or Smile:

A monkey on Monkey Beach on Ko Phi Phi- Thailand; on the island of Ko Phi Phi there
is a small beach that is inhabited by monkeys (very vicious monkeys) . I don’t think
that this needs much explaining a monkey drinking Coke is just funny.

A Photo That Makes Me Dream:

My Back Garden – Sydney; whilst living in Sydney I rented an
apartment with 4 other travellers, a very posh one on the harbour – with boats.
This photo was taken whilst chilling down on the harbour in our back garden
with some fishing rods and Corona. This photo always makes me dream of those
amazing times, and our poor boats that were lost to the bottom of the Ocean
R.I.P

A Photo That Makes Me Think:

The Skulls Of The Dead – S-12- Cambodia; In the late 70’s the
Khmer Rouge Party took control of Cambodia and inflicted upon its people a
reality worse than Hell. Children taught to kill their parents, its people
forced to work on farms until they starved, imprisoned in tiny cells and then
sent to death camps. The scars of this are still with the Cambodian people who
are resilient. This photo was in S-12 the
central prison in Phnom phen. The Skulls are of females aged 15 – 25.

A Photo That Makes My Mouth Water:

Ok – Not one to take photos of my food I found this one
difficult, however, this one, had to go to a Khmer BBQ in Siam Reap Cambodia. It was not the most delicious thing that I had
however maybe the most unusual so it deserves a mention. In this pot of water
is Noodles, Vegetables, Chicken, Snake and Crocodile – Yum!!

A Photo With A Story:

Well this has no competition – The Bus at The Blue Mountains
– Australia; this had to be the photo as it is the first outing of our infamous
bus that toured The East Coast of Australia. It is the very beginning of an
epic story.

A Photo I Am Most Proud Of (AKA My Worthy Of National
Geographic Shot):

Floating Lanterns at the TET Festival (Chinese and
Vietnamese New Year) Hoi An Vietnam. I spent TET in Hoi An Vietnam – this beautiful
sleepy town in Vietnam is definitely one of my favourite destinations. In the
run up to new year the locals light a lantern and send it down the river, it is
truly spectacular.

Please let me know what you think of my selections and if
you want to take part in Super 7 Shots please do and say that I referred you.

Friday, 18 May 2012

Every Week on this page I will be doing a post about the #FriFoto theme:

This Weeks #FriFoto Theme is HOLY PLACES I have luckily had the honour to witness some humbling Holy Places whilst on my round the world trip. Such as Monks blessing the local children next to the Angkor Thom Temples:

The Temple of The Emerald Buddha – The Grand Palace – Bangkok. You have to cover up out of respect the atmosphere reminds me of visiting the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican. Another holy place that – sadly I have no photo for:

An upsetting photo of a holy place in rubble; a Church in rubble in the city of Christ Church after the earthquake:

The hidden Buddha buried in Phu Kham Cave – Vang Veing Laos. I can’t really explain the feeling you get when you mind this buried in the middle of a mountain cave – there were incense sticks lit from where the locals had been praying:

Wednesday, 9 May 2012

This is a compilation of random top 10 bits of advice I have from my experience backpacking!

Top 10 Things You Need In Your Backpack

When I was packing I had no clue what to bring, I bought a lot of unnecessary items and didn’t bring a lot of necessary ones, then spent a lot of money acquiring them. Also a suitcase instead of a backpack is fine at no point are you hauling all your stuff up any mountains, in fact a suitcase is probably the best idea. And the best most important tip of all is pack light and pack only stuff you love – you will have nothing but what you pack for a very long time!

10. Hiking boots / good trainers – you will at some point need them and buying them on the road is expensive.

9. A warm Jacket – you are not on holiday you will be in all weather conditions.

8. A laptop with lots of movies, journeys can be long and there are a lot of boring nights with no entertainment.

7. 1 good pair of jeans no more no less they can add weight and you will throw away any extras.

6. Insect / bug killer between mossies and bed bugs this stuff is a god send.

5. A sewing kit – small and is a lot cheaper than buying new stuff when your clothes are torn.

4. 2 nice dresses / night time clothes – it can be horrible having nothing to wear when you go out.

3. Hair straighteners / dryer – don’t listen when people laugh and say you won’t need them. There is always a plug socket.

2. A universal adaptor.

1. Baby Wipes – the absolute most necessary item. There is never toilet roll, you can remove your make-up and in desperate situations wash yourself with them when there is no showers.